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Originally Posted by Long & Winding road

I just looked at your pictures on Google. Awesome. Very helpful.
I have few more questios for you.....(will they ever stop - LOL).

Glad to hear it. I really wish I had someone to ask when I started mine. I had a lot of looking to do at different videos and pictures to get an idea

Looks like the brackets are NOT painted from BF? Thats crazy.

Mine were not painted. They were meant to be welded on which makes sense. Painting wasn't a big deal ... I also keep several cans around because the bottom of the rv is scary even on new ones in how quickly things start to rust. I'm glad I'm in CA which helps a lot.

Did you have to drill all the holes in the brackets as well as the frame? Or are the brakets predrilled and you just drill the frame?

The brackets are predrilled for the jacks. Everything else I had to drill both on the frame and on the sides of the brackets. As I went through the process, I realized a "step bit" is definitely worth it for this kind of job. I broke a couple but man do they make drilling big holes in tight spots easier

Did the Ford frame have "some" of the holes in the right locaton from factory already?

Not really. I preferred to drill my own anyway to have them be where I thought they should be.

Is your central pump located under the drivers seat rigth next to the tranny output?

Mine is near the center of the rv on the driver side of the drive shaft. There is a frame crossmember there that I was able to mount to. I tried to stay central and away from everything else.

Was all of the hydraulic hoses and wiring long enough from the kit?

The hoses and cables were long enough ... I ran some of my own wiring so I re-did a lot of the electricals. But the hoses, which at first I was thinking of having custom-length ones made I decided not to mess with. I managed to use the ones that the kit came with after some careful planning and measuring.

Honestly, I almost went nuts trying to keep the kit wiring in-tact. It was a LOT easier to just cut and splice ... I ran wires out from panel to the under-fridge fuse panel area ... and from the pump up into the rv .. and spliced. Trying to figure out how to manage all that just so you keep the kit wiring and connectors adds a lot of complexity and confusion.

For electricals, I like to run 7-conductor (18/7) sprinkler wire everywhere ... maybe several of them. This not only gives me a nice shielded wire that can withstand the elements, it is also a lot easier to run ... and with extra conductors, I have future expandability for anything else I might want to add. But this is just for the low-current signal wires between the pump and the panel.

For the jack-up sensor wire (goes to each jack to make a single ground circuit for all jacks being in the up position) I used their wire.

What else did you have to purchase to complete the job? Looks like some plastic conduit in the frig compartment?

Lots of grade 8 bolts, washers, lock washers, and nuts. I basically got my own bolts for everything. I used 1/2" steel all-thread for the rear brackets to help me stiffen the frame. It's not as strong as grade 8 but since the brackets sort of hug the frame, I think they'll do fine. I still used grade-8 for the actual jack bolts.

Electrical stuff I always have plenty at home just from various projects. So yah random connectors, electrical tape, lots and lots of zip ties, looms.

Paint spray .. I get the self priming stuff at the local hardware store. I also tend to do touch-up sprays with rustoleum hammered since it can go straight on top of rust too.

Would you change anything now that you used it some?

I like Vegas baby's idea of cutting the side of a storage compartment for the pump location... I definitely didn't want to put it in a storage compartment since they are such valuable space But I have not had to touch that box since I closed it up so it's been fine where it is. It's just that in case of problems, I might have to crawl under the rv .. and it will probably happen when I am stuck in mud or snow or some horrible situation

Does this kit come with the "wireless remote" that they show on line?

Not mine. I didn't want any automation and no wireless. I wanted the simplest thing because the more doo-dads it has, the more things there are that may not work well or have problems.